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The Gugong, or Imperial Palace, is much better known by its unofficial title, the Forbidden City , a reference to its exclusivity. Indeed, for the five centuries of its operation, through the reigns of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, ordinary Chinese were forbidden from even approaching the walls of the palace. Today the complex is open to visitors daily 8.30am-5pm, with last admission at 3.30pm in winter, 4pm in summer (Y55). Note that as well as the main entrance under Tian'anmen you can also come in through the smaller north and east gates. You have the freedom of most of the hundred-hectare site, though not all of the buildings, which are labelled in English. If you want detailed explanation of everything you see, you can tag on to one of the numerous tour groups or buy one of the many specialist books on sale. The audio tour (Y25), available by the main gate, is also worth considering. You're provided with a cassette player and headphones and suavely talked through the complex by Roger Moore - though if you do this, it's worth retracing your steps afterwards for an untutored view. Useful bus routes serving the Forbidden City are #5 from Qianmen, and #54 from Beijing Zhan, or you could use #1, which passes the complex on its journey along Chang'an Jie. You can get to the back gate on buses #101, #103 or #109. The nearest subway is Qianmen. If you are in a taxi , you can save yourself the walk across Tian'anmen Square by asking to be dropped at the east gate.
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